Whenever Steven Meisel and Gisele Bundchen join forces for Vogue Italia you know you’re in for a treat. The June issue delves into beauty with a satirical look at the pleasures of primping – from your basic treatments and manicures, to controversial extremes like the much discussed ‘vampire’ facial. Meisel shoots in his signature high gloss style, while Lori Goldstein mixes in pieces from Louis Vuitton, Fendi alongside a few larger-than-life Chanel Joaillerie sparklers. Given the subject matter the dream team of Pat McGrath, Guido Palau and Jin Soon Choi are naturally a big part of the action – their elegant touch keeps Gisele looking flawless, even in the middle of chemical peels and deep conditioning masks.

Hedi Slimane’s dramatic rebranding of Yves Saint Laurent was one of the most divisive collections in recent memory; everyone had an opinion, some more hotly debated than others. While many found Slimane’s changes to be completely in line with the spirit of the house and a much needed makeover that pushed the brand into the future, others felt the overhaul was unnecessary, overly hyped and even underwhelming. Wide brim hats and seventies style suiting aren’t for everyone, but no matter how you felt about the Saint Laurent Paris ensembles themselves, you knew you were going to be seeing a lot of them. Like the McQueen visors and Prada stripes that came before them, those SLP hats were destined for editorials; fashion editors can’t resist a look with instant visual impact and Slimane’s designs are always distinctive.

Though the chapeaus are shaping up to be one of the most photographed editorial pieces of the moment, few stylists have strayed from the vision Slimane presented on the runway. Every so often though, the mood of the image goes beyond simply rehashing the nonchalant cool vibe of Slimane’s Le Smoking influenced style and pushes into expressive territory. Take a look at the way Lori Goldstein adds a touch of 60s glamour in the Vogue Italia shots of Fei Fei Sun, putting a more structured version of the SLP headpiece to good use but making it right for a completely different kind of mood.

Aquatic references were a big part of what made the several recent collections magical. Think back to Chanel’s dreamy mermaid inspired S/S 12 collection, or the equally alluring scuba jackets from Balenciaga that season, even Donatella Versace went underwater for spring and though each designer was cribbing from the same source material, the ideas they created were wildly different. It is fascinating to see those Master stylist Lori Goldsteintakes statement pieces from each collection and weaves them together to create a spectacular showcase for Saskia de Brauw in Patrick Demarchelier‘s atmospheric Vogue Japan story.

The Versace gown with strategically placed star fish, the embellished Max Kibardin shoes that look like coral, the plastic paillette covered Vuitton dress that glitters like a fish’s scales; every piece chosen works perfectly. Hats off to Goldstein for giving us this festive fashion fantasy. We’re not sure if mermaids actually go on holidays, but if they did this is probably would it would look like.

Controversy aside, the Steven Meisel cover of Joan Smalls marks the first time a black model has been on the cover of VI since the infamous Black Issue, which makes another triumph for Joan. Getting a VI cover is always a coup for a model, but considering how rare it is to see a woman of color fronting the world’s most influential fashion mag, this is kind of a big deal. Perhaps the greater controversy is the fact that there are multi-year periods where we just don’t see people of color on the covers of our fashion mags.

With the CFDA awards right around the corner, the tension is mounting. Who will win? Who will lose? What will they wear? The answers to all these questions will be revealed Monday night, but in the meantime the annual nominees portfolio only adds to the excitement. Shot bySolve Sundsbo and styled by Lori Goldstein, the images feature designers posing alongside models who represent the look of their brand; Jason Wu stands in awe of the statuesque Karlie Kloss, wearing one of his elegant fall creations, while Prabal Gurung lounges with Heidi Mount. Marc Jacobs may have missed the photoshoot but witha team of models led byJacquelyn Jablonski andÂ Paul Boche, wearing masks of the designer’s face you hardly notice his absence, Trey Laird‘s inventive creative direction, really makes these images shine.